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Phish

The night of the 23rd of October was the night the popular jam band Phish took the Blue
Cross Arena in Rochester by storm. From the moment I walked in with my friends you could
see faces of sheer joy and anticipation, some of which seeing the band for their first time and
others their 30th. Once we got to the standing room on the floor and got ready, we knew we were
about to witness musical genius. As soon as the lights dimmed and you saw the shadows of the
members come on stage, you could not only hear the roar from the crowd, but feel it too.
While the members were tuning their instruments a leaned over to me friend and told
him, watch them open up with AC/DC Bag, and sure enough they did. Other than my
feelings of surprise, as well as confidence from my call, I felt I had taken a head first dive right
into the show, getting right into the spirit of it. The song has a nice upbeat tempo that gets the
whole crowd up and energetic right from the start of the show, paying strict attention to the clean
vocals from their lead guitarist Trey Anastasio and the overall fluidity of all the instruments.
After a fan favorite jam song called The Moma Dance they got the crowd even more energized
with a song titled Axilla I. This song is started off with a very aggressive and fast guitar rift
that is followed by the keys playing a harmonizing sound, which eventually leads to a keyboard
solo, that is reinforced by the loud banging on the snare drum with a steady bass in the back.
Axilla I is always a fan favorite and is instantly picked up on once it starts, but it fails in
comparison to a song called Scent Of A Mule. This song is rarely played so its always a treat
when it is played and also holds the trait of being picked up on instantly. The song starts off
very fast with their bassist, Mike Gordon, taking the vocals this time but also having
harmonization of all the voices once the chorus kicks in. About a few minutes in it transitions
into an epic piano solo by their keyboardist Paige McConnell that has a rather strange but very

lively feel to it before the drummer Jon Fishman takes over on the marimba lumina. The sound
from this instrument is very bizarre, able to make sounds from a broad spectrum of noise, but
still maintaining its relevance to the song. The first set ends after a few more songs, leaving the
crowd begging for more
While the first set had many fan favorites, the second set had songs that were rather
jam-ish and instrumental. Though the songs in between the start and end of the second songs
were all good in their own ways, the set finale was the ultimate Phish song. You Enjoy Myself
has always been in the hearts of all fans since its studio release which is masterfully put together.
The song is primarily an instrumental song that has complete synchronization of all the
instruments throughout it especially some perfect piano solos, but primarily focuses on the art
that is Trey Anastasio playing his guitar. After a rather long, but beautiful beginning jam it leads
into a charge from the each instrument, getting louder and louder before finally they all shout,
AHBOY, which has the crowds participation as well. This leads to another part that is
completely different, providing the audience with more of a groovy reggae feel to. During this
segment is the best part, the pit crew brings out trampolines for Trey and Mike which they
simultaneous jump up and down, also changing directions, in complete synchronization. After
that lengthy jam the whole band does an A cappella together before finally biding adieu. The
conclusion of the show was bitter-sweet, leaving me satisfied with what I just witnessed but also
wanting more.

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